It’s an exciting day for The Tragically Hip fans who were unable to get their hands on concert tickets.
The CBC has announced it will be broadcasting and livestreaming the final concert of the band’s upcoming summer tour.
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The announcement, which coincides with Friday’s release of “Man Machine Poem”, the group’s 14th studio album, follows a cascade of frustrated Hip fans who called on the public broadcaster to air the band’s final show held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in the Hip’s hometown of Kingston, Ontario on August 20.
The Man Machine Poem Tour was announced shortly after frontman Gord Downie revealed he has incurable brain cancer. As a result, pre-sale tickets sold out in seconds before popping up at dramatically inflated prices of resale sites, and fans started targeting the CBC in online petitions and open letters addressed to their management to broadcast the show.
Emma Bedard, a spokesperson for the CBC, said the public broadcaster was, in fact, already looking into ways to air the concert before requests emerged.
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“The Tragically Hip’s enigmatic sound, their poignant and witty lyrics, and the unique, special relationship they have with their fans have helped define and influence our identity as Canadians,” added Heather Conway, CBC’s Executive Vice-President of English Services. “CBC and the Hip are so happy to be able to share this event with all Canadians and bring audiences across the country and around the world together to celebrate the moment.”
The Kingston show is set to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast and streamed, commercial-free.
